Tuesday Links: People Are Buying Contemporary Art at Auction This Week

Felix Salmon sees evidence that the art market is being run by the greater fool theory (there’s always someone dumber than you to purchase a work for more money). Steve Cohen is Salmon’s primary example here, since he’s unloading work he bought last year. Makes sense and all but Steve Cohen’s hedge fund, of which he owns 100 percent, also owes the government billions now that it’s pleaded guilty to insider trading. Could that not have something to do with the sales? [Felix Salmon]

Phillips de Pury’s contemporary auction ran last night, and according to Josh Baer, most of the big ticket items were bought by dealers, (who often bid on behalf of clients). Tonight’s sale totaled $68 million with 88% of lots sold. Baer thinks going first helped their sales. Zwirner grabbed the Hammons for $7,000,000 and Koons for $3,800,000 making him the dealer who purchased the most last night. [Baer Faxt]

@charlieburns seems to think Zwirner’s purchase of Hammons constitutes artist support. Let’s quash that misnomer now. Artists don’t see any money from the sale of their work when purchased on the secondary market. Also, Hammons isn’t exactly a struggling artist at this point. [@magdasawon]

Wikipedia does not yet have an entry for “art fair.” Go on, make one; you have three weeks before Miami Basel. [Wikipedia]

North Korea has put eighty people to death by firing squad for watching foreign films. [The Telegraph]

Richard Prince is having another angsty flare-up. It’s been a while since he’s typed up a shitstorm about bloggers, so this week he let loose on art magazines. He hates Art Forum. He really hates Artinfo: “(Just to let you know … I hope you fuck off and die and go out of business and leave the art world to me. Why me? Because I am the fucking art world).” [Artinfo, Bird Talk]